Sage of Origin
by WraithRune
Summary: Long before the tailed beasts walk the lands, the Guardian Forces watches over men. Then the cataclysm came and all were destroyed. The world was broken, and its only hope lies in the actions of one living sacrifice. Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto.


**Story Title: Sage of Origin (version 2.0)**

**Crossover: **Naruto/ Final Fantasy VIII

**Summary:** Long before the tailed beasts walk the lands, the Guardian Forces watches over men. Then the cataclysm came and all were destroyed. The world was broken, and its only hope lies in the actions of one living sacrifice. Naruto Uzumaki.

**Author's Note: **For the past few weeks, this idea has been eating away at me, so I've write it down and toss it to the winds. What happen if Naruto was granted the magic system of Final Fantasy VIII, by forming pacts with Elementals which allows him to _pull_ magic from magical sources or magical creatures? What type of magic will he be able to pull from Sasuke who have the Sharingan and fire affinity, or Sakura with her split personality?

And so I've started this tale to explore the possibilities. Hopefully now that this plot bunny is written, I can focus on my Technological Ninja fanfic. ;)

**PS:** Based on feedback from readers, certain portions of the chapter have been rewritten. Hopefully this will make for easier reading.

OoooO

**Chapter One: Awakening of Quezacotl**

"_Before the Age of Ninjas, before men bear the power to manipulate chakra, before the time of the cataclysm, men were but ordinary creatures. To the ancient men, chakra was known by another name, "magic". Back then, men lacked the ability to manipulate the exotic forces, at least not without help from the ancient Elementals of the World, the Guardian Forces. Then the Sorceress died and with her death she cursed the world. She destroyed the powers of the Elementals, she called down fire and ice onto the world. The world lies broken, the powers of the Elementals formed into a malevolent entity, the powerful world walker known to men as the Ten-tailed beast. The Ten-tailed beast terrorized the land, destroying millions of lives. The Age of Science ended, and legends of the Elementals faded with time._

_The rest of the story is then familiar to all ninjas. After what is known as the great Cataclysm, the one know__n as the Sage of the Six Paths was born. Humans were changed then, having the power to manipulate the chakra within themselves. Some were changed even further, attaining bloodline abilities. The Sage of the Six Paths gathered all those worthy and taught th__em to wield their new powers in this world. And thus the Age of Ninjas began..."_ ~ An accounting of the History of the World, by the Sage of Origin, Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto.

OoooO

_Hirosou Hills, Northern Lightning Country_

Digging carefully through the ancient ruins in the distant north of the Lightning country was hard work, especially when most of the area was a hot suffocating desert. If Tashiro did not know any better, he would have thought he was in Wind country. His shovel struck something hard, carefully he reached down to smooth the sand away and grinned at what he found. A small round crystal ball of what was probably a chakra gem rolled in his palms. Chakra gems were precious, all the more since they were rarely found under the earth, though ancient ruins were known to contain large quantities of them. Apparently chakra gems were highly used by the Ancients for some unknown purposes lost to time.

Chakra gems from before the time of the cataclysm were highly conductive with chakra, many carrying special properties. It was a profitable trade for the "Treasure Hunters" who combed the ancient ruins to dig them up and sell them to the various weapons or armor smiths where they would be used to create highly priced weapons or armors for ninjas and wealthy lords. Tashiro observed the small orb of chakra gem in his hand, noting the soft green-blue glow emitting from the blue green crystal. He chuckled. It was a good day to be him, the orb of chakra gem in his hand was most probably one with special properties, which would cost much more to the smiths. He was about to toss the gem into the pile of artifacts he had dug out by his side when a strange feeling swept over him and he...

Tashiro blinked as if he had woken from a long sleep. He looked at the orb of chakra gem with new eyes, the urge to sell the gem was mysteriously swept away.

"What a lovely piece of chakra gem. I should keep it as a lucky charm." Tashiro muttered to himself distractedly as he pocketed the blue green orb. "I wonder why I thought to sell this lovely piece of gemstone anyway..."

Picking up his shovel, Tashiro continued to work.

OoooO

_Within the orb of Elemental ore_

He did not know how long he had slept. He felt horribly weak, a pitiful reflection of what he used to be. The mere elemental essence he possessed barely enabled him to survive. His senses were limited, yet they were enough to awaken him when a human laid his hands on the Elemental ore that was his prison and home.

He accessed the memories of the man in seconds, casting an analysis of the man's body in minutes, and was shocked at the state of the world. Men now wield magic within them, though apparently they called it chakra in this new world. Even the treasure hunter that had unearthed him possessed the leylines of magic within his body, though he was unable to tap into it. The destruction of the Elemental plane long ago had done more than shattered the powers of the Guardian Forces, they have made men magical.

He shivered as he remembered the Ten-tailed horror that had formed from the destructive energies after the Elemental plane shattered. He remembered how the beast, a mindless Elemental God, had proceeded to hunt down and consumed the weakened and de-powered Guardian Forces. None had the power to subdue the beast, all the Guardian Forces could do was to abandon humanity to their fates while they went into hiding, scattering their very essence, hidden within Elemental ores or Junction systems throughout the world in the hopes that at least a part of their essence survived the purge by the Ten-tailed beast.

His essence in this Elemental ore, now in the hands of a treasure hunter was all that had survived. He had no idea if any of his fellow Elementals survived the purge. Using what little magic he had left, he modified the memories of the treasure hunter so that his prison and home would not be destroyed. Instead he would be kept safe by the very man that had dug him out.

Now awakened, he previewed the memories the treasure hunter had of the tailed beasts. There were now nine in all, though the treasure hunter knew nothing of the Ten-tailed beast that had destroyed the world. Neither does the treasure hunter know where those tailed beasts were. It was however common knowledge that these nine tailed beasts were all sealed into objects and people. In fact there were rumors that Cloud village itself bears two tailed beasts sealed into two people whose identities were unknown to others outside the village. All these bear much investigating. It might be that these nine tailed beasts had some relation to the Ten-tailed beast birthed from the destruction of the Elemental planes. Finding out exactly what they were and how they were sealed might be the only way he would ever get his full powers back.

A small manipulating of magic, and a new memory was inserted to the one that now kept him safe.

OoooO

_5 years later, Konoha_

Berio, a fat bellied merchant who had felt an urge to come to Konoha, rolled the orb of chakra gem in his palm. The chakra gem was his lucky stone, given to him by another of his merchant acquaintance. It had been in his possession ever since.

Even since he arrived at Konoha, he had felt an urge of disquiet, as he took to roaming the busy streets, the chakra gem in his hands. He felt as though he was looking for something, he just did not know what that something was.

A flash of blond hair caught his attention and Berio was overcome with an urge to move forward and grab the young boy in front of him by the shoulders. The boy turned around with a cry of surprise, his startled blue eyes looking at Berio in shock, the boy's whiskered marked cheeks highlighting the difference between the child and others of his age.

Berio's hand which held the chakra gem moved of his own accord, pressing the chakra gem into the palm of the boy. He then turned and began walking away. He had walked past several blocks of shop houses before his mind cleared and he came to his senses.

The first and foremost thought in his mind was why the hell he had come to Konoha for. The second was the feeling that he had just lost something valuable, though for the life of him, he could not recall what he had just lost.

OoooO

_Streets of Konoha_

Uzumaki Naruto was an orphan, and at the age of eleven had been living on his own for the past six years. It was probably inhuman to let a child of the age of five to live on his own, but Konoha's orphanages had refused to take him back after he had proven himself to be self-sufficient. Naruto was used to being treated with animosity by the villagers. The only people that were actually nice to him were old man Hokage, and the ramen stall owner Teuchi and his daughter Ayame. He had learned early on that he could either cry at the unfairness of it all, or approach the world with a smile... and maybe a prank or two. For instance, the old man who owned the grocery store at Oak Pine street was going to be in for a surprise when he opened his store later, of course, that grouchy old man should not have sold Naruto two cartons of sour milk at twice the normal price in the first place.

His hands still had some orange paint from his latest prank. Naruto was thinking about going back home to wash everything off when he was suddenly grabbed from behind. Jerking his head around, his eyes widened in shock as a red faced, big bellied man glared down at him before pressing something round into his hand. Then the man simply walked away without a backward glance. Naruto remained staring after the man for a few stupefied seconds until a tingling sensation in his hand caused him to look down at the object he now held. It was a pretty round crystal of some sort, glowing with a green light. Some of the light seemed to seep into his skin. A chilling sensation swept over him and Naruto shivered.

"What in the world is this?" Naruto said in surprise as he held up the glowing crystal stone. He wondered why the man had given it to him in the first place. After a while, he gave a shrug. It was obvious the man was not coming back, and the crystal ball was pretty, he might as well keep it.

Tucking it into his pocket, he walked back home.

OoooO

_Within the orb of Elemental ore_

The moment his carrier had arrived in the ninja town of Konoha, he knew that his long search was over. A thin mist of ethereal elemental essence hung undisturbed in certain areas of the village. Like a starving beast, he had controlled his carrier, making him go to the places where he could absorb the thin layer of ethereal essence in the air, restoring a pitiful amount of his original strength.

Five years he had wandered this new world, and since then he had dug into old legends by controlling his carriers, discovering what had become of the Ten-tailed beast that had destroyed the Guardian Forces. It seemed centuries ago, a powerful ninja known as the Sage of the Six Path was born to the world and had sealed the mindless Elemental God away. With the Sage's death, he had split the Elemental God into nine lesser parts so that the mindless Elemental God would never again have the chance to reform.

It had taken much effort to hunt down the human containers of the tailed beasts, with him expanding much of his remaining magic to do so. Discovering and visiting the Eight-tailed and Three-tailed beasts' human containers had revealed to him that they possessed the same elemental essence absorbing properties of the Ten-tailed beast. Using his then human carrier, he had managed to observe moments when the container of the Three-tailed had tapped into the Three-tailed's chakra. His weak senses was able to reveal to him that should the tailed beast's chakra touched his raw essence, he would be absorbed into the tailed beast, like what had happened to the other Guardian Forces when the Ten-tailed beast roam the world. Seeing that all he had left of his essence was this small spark trapped within the Elemental ore, being absorbed by any of the tailed beasts living in this world now would mean true death for him.

The seal arrays that sealed away the Eight-tailed and Three-tailed beasts were useless to him in this aspect as they did not truly contain the tailed beasts' power. Being an Elemental Force, he was able to use his keen senses to understand the innate workings of the magical seals on the body of the human containers of the Eight-tailed and Three-tailed beasts. It was a huge disappointment that the seal arrays on the human containers would not help further his plan to regain his true power and essence.

He had traveled the world then, finding and seeking out the containers of the other tailed beasts, switching human carriers like a second skin. He had saw and sensed the human containers for the Seven, Fifth, and Fourth tailed beasts, but all of them were the same as the rest. The seal arrays that trapped the tailed beasts inside their human containers allowed the chakra of the tailed beasts to flow freely in their bodies. Just a touch of the human containers' hands on his Elemental ore would mean his death. His wish of using the magical sealing methods the humans in this generation had come up with to draw the ethereal essence out of the tailed beasts seemed like a distant goal. He had almost lost hope until he reached Konoha and discovered the young tailed beast container of this village.

The moment his human carrier had arrived near the boy, he was able to sense the near perfect magical seal trapping one of the tailed beasts within the boy's body. The seal constantly pulled out a small portion of the tailed beast's chakra into the boy's body, converting it to a less harmful form, allowing it to merge with the boy's own chakra. Being an Elemental Force, albeit one that was disruptive in nature, the Nine-tailed beast, was part magic/chakra and part ethereal energies. The seal on the boy allowed the safe conversion of tailed beast's chakra into human chakra, it did not however, account for the ethereal essence of the tailed beast which it drew out. These ethereal energies were thus infused within the boy's body which then leaked out into the air. That was the cause of the shroud of ethereal essence he had first sensed and consumed when he had arrived at Konoha.

The Ten-tailed beast was an Elemental God formed from the destruction of the Elemental planes. It was able to constantly generate ethereal energies, energies which sustain life of the Guardian Forces. The nine lesser tailed beasts bear the same properties, and now he found the perfect seal on a young human container which would allow him to "feed" on those energies, to restore himself and slowly build up his power.

The seal was not perfect. There was a magical "hole" for a lack of words that allowed large amounts of raw tailed beast chakra to run through the boy's chakra pathways when the boy was feeling intense emotions. It would prove fatal to him if he was near when that happened, but he was willing to take the chance, especially since he had a plan of his own.

In ancient days, the Guardian Forces would form a pact with a human, by leaving a small part of their essence in a human crafted system called the Junction system, also known as an artificial construct created based on the structure of Elemental ore. Guardian Forces, as Elemental beings, could only live physically in the Elemental planes which was now destroyed, or survive in the physical plane by inhabiting naturally or artificially crafted Elemental ores. The only exceptions were the tailed beasts that could generate ethereal essence on their own and maintain a solid form in the physical plane.

Some humans implanted Elemental ores, or Junction systems, into their bodies in order to form a pact with any of the Guardian Forces. The Guardian Forces would in turn leave a small part of their essence in the Elemental ores within their body. This small essence would grant the humans magical abilities and the power to call up the essence of the Guardian Force whom they formed the pact with.

The young boy possessed no human crafted Junction system, and there was no way he would allow his current Elemental ore prison and home to be implanted into the boy, there was just too much risk of things going wrong. The seal on the boy however turned him into a constantly generator of ethereal energies. It would be a simple matter to split a small portion of his essence into the boy. His essence would survive in the boy's body because of the ethereal energies produced within the boy. The small part of his self that he stored in the boy would run the risk of being consumed should the boy tapped into the raw chakra of the tailed beast within him, but he was willing to take that risk especially since with his essence in the boy, he could absorb the constant outpouring of life sustaining energies from the boy. These energies would then be transferred to his main essence in the Elemental ore, allowing his main self to grow in strength.

The Elemental ore storing his original essence would be kept somewhere safe. Should the boy lose control and tapped into the raw chakra of the tailed beast and his small essence within the boy died, he could always implant a new splinter of himself into the boy from his current home and prison. He would bide his time, he would learn more of this world, and he would continue to regain his powers.

His brothers and sisters... Five years of searching and he had not found any trace of them. He hoped that at least some of them survived, until he regained the powers to save them.

OoooO

_One year later, Konoha_

Naruto stepped back into his apartment, feeling incredibly weary and drained after the night's event. He had failed the Genin test again and had stupidly believed his academy school teacher Mizuki when the man had revealed an alternative way to pass the test. Naruto was given the plans to steal Konoha's Forbidden Scroll while Mizuki distracted the guards. He had not known at the time that Mizuki intended to use him as a scapegoat to steal the Forbidden Scroll for himself.

At least the night was not a waste. He had learned a powerful ninjutsu, the Shadow Clone technique, he had also found out the reason why almost everyone hated him. He was the human container of the Nine-tailed fox, a fact which had sent him into momentary mind numbing terror. That horror had quickly faded at the genuine display of care and concern his academy school teacher Iruka had shown him when he had defended Naruto against Mizuki. In a surprising turn of events, Naruto had beaten Mizuki in a fight and Iruka had awarded him with the Genin headband.

Closing the door to his apartment, Naruto went into his room. He opened his drawer, feeling within for a hidden catch which popped open. His hand clasped around a round hard orb and he took out a well-worn crystal ball glowing with a green light. Flopping onto his bed, Naruto held the orb above his eye gazing at it.

"Today is one hell of a day." Naruto confided to the crystal. If there had been anyone around to hear him, he would have felt a bit silly. Through the one year after he had gotten the stone, he had gotten into the habit of pouring out his emotions to the stone. It was a special stone to him after all, and it was not as though he had a lot of people to talk to. Sometimes he felt as though the stone understood his words, he always felt more peaceful after talking to it. "Mizuki really tricked me. I guess I should not just believe everyone, even if they are teachers..."

OoooO

_Within the orb of Elemental ore_

He listened to the boy, even though he already knew what had happened. His essence within the boy had observed the night's happening. Throughout the year he had lived with the boy, he had discovered the child to be a bundle of optimism, a child that never gave up when almost everyone was against him. The child was truly a bright example of the human race. Naruto might be rough around the edges, but that was because he had been surviving on his own all these years. The child's heart was pure, and if it was the old days, he would not have been averse to forming a pact with the boy. Even now, he was contemplating if he should reveal himself to the boy or to continue being a silent leach within Naruto.

But that would not be truly fair. Because of the boy's unknowing help, he had managed to regain most of his powers and strength within this one year. The ethereal energies within the boy was surprising potent due to its condensed state, unlike the mild energies that used to flow in the Elemental plane. In a few months' time, he would be back to full strength. And if he continued absorbing the ethereal energies from the boy, he might even evolve to the next stage of power. He owned too much to the boy not to reveal the truth to him.

Perhaps soon, he promised himself. He would tell the boy of the old world, of the guardians that once protected the world. Of the broken past that was.

OoooO

_Five months later, Wave Country_

Horror gripped Naruto as he stared at the body of Sasuke in front of him. Sasuke's body was filled with ice senbons sticking out, and the black haired boy just lay on the ground still and unmoving. The C-rank mission his Genin team took had gone badly. They were supposed to see an old bridge builder home, only to ultimately end up in battle against a powerful merchant who had hired an A-rank missing ninja and his ice wielding apprentice to deal with Team 7. Kakashi had left to deal with the A-rank missing nin, one Zabuza. Sasuke and Naruto were supposed to deal with the apprentice who impossible as it seemed, was able to use ice techniques. He had trapped Sasuke and Naruto within a dome of ice mirrors and unleashed devastating attacks against them.

Naruto had always thought Sasuke was a jerk, that the boy did not care about anyone other than himself. But then Sasuke had stood in front of Naruto when he had been unable to escape a hail of senbon needles. Sasuke had defended Naruto from that attack with his body and now he lay unmoving in front of Naruto... not breathing... dead.

Team 7 had agreed as a whole to not abandon the mission when they first encountered the two missing nins. Naruto just never expected that one of them would end up dead in this hopeless mission. A slow burning anger spread through Naruto's body, grief consumed him, his emotions stirring into dark turmoil. He glared at the masked ninja hidden within the ice mirror, he would have revenge.

Tendrils of red chakra emitted from his body as his anger swirled to new heights.

OoooO

_Within the body of Uzumaki Naruto_

It was the first time the boy and his Genin team had taken a mission out of Konoha. He had remained a silent observer within the boy's body, siphoning the ethereal essence the boy produced to his main self that resided in the Elemental ore back in the boy's apartment. He had felt the first tingle of apprehension when the young Team 7 had first encountered the powerful missing nin Zabuza at the start of their journey. A hunter nin had stopped the battle when Zabuza nearly lost, seemingly killing Zabuza and taking away the body. He had gotten the first shock of his new life when his senses picked up the faint essence of his sister Shiva, the Elemental Goddess of Ice within the hunter nin.

When Team 7 had agreed unanimously to continue the mission, after the old bridge builder had revealed the reason the missing nin was after him and how he could not afford to pay for a higher grade mission, he had decided to observe the situation a bit more before acting. His main essence was already restored back to his former strength before the shattering of the Elemental plane, the time was nearing to reveal the truth to young Naruto.

Kakashi, the Jonin teacher of Team 7, had set the team to numerous training exercises the moment they had arrived in Wave country, to prepare the group of young Genin for what was to come. In a solo training exercise, Naruto had unknowingly encountered the hunter nin again in her unmasked state. The girl had introduced herself to the boy as Haku, forming an instance friendship with Naruto. He had taken the chance to cast a detailed magical scan of the girl, which had revealed that she was truly a human offspring of Shiva, who was a powerful Elemental Goddess back in the old days. How Shiva had managed to mate with a human was unknown to him, but the existence of the girl proved that Shiva was alive after the shattering of the world, though where she was now was something he needed to discover.

He had intended to reveal to Naruto his existence the following day. What he had not counted on was a recovered Zabuza and a masked Haku attacking Team 7. Haku had revealed her ice elemental heritage when she had trapped Naruto and his teammate, Sasuke in a dome of ice mirrors. Haku had then strike down Sasuke. His magical scan showed that the Uchiha was in a deep sleep like state, though to all physical appearances, he seemed dead.

That unfortunately seemed to trigger great anger and grief within Naruto. He was alarmed when raw tendrils of tailed beast chakra began sweeping through Naruto's body. Pain hit him as the raw tailed beast chakra encountered parts of his essence within Naruto and consumed them. He had to act fast before his essence within the boy was totally destroyed.

For the first time since the breaking of the world, he spoke directly to a living human.

OoooO

_Unnamed bridge in Wave Country_

_Uzumaki Naruto. _The voice, a deep timbre, intoned within his head, shocking Naruto out of his anger. _Hear my words. Uchiha Sasuke is not dead._

"What?" Naruto cried out in shock, looking around him to see who had spoken. But there was no one else around, except for Sasuke lying still on the floor and the masked ninja hiding in the ice mirrors.

_He is still alive, but that may change if you __cannot__ win this fight. _The voice continued._ I can help if you will allow me to tap into your chakra. And to fulfill my o__ne request._

"Who are you?" Naruto asked again, now feeling distinctively uneasy.

_Someone who can help if you accept it. _The voice said, and this time Naruto's unease swept away, to be replaced by a calm certainty that whoever the voice was from, he meant Naruto no ill intend. If he had time to think, Naruto might have realized that his feelings of trust for a strange voice in his head were a bit unnatural. But right now, he was in a battle that he most certainly could not win. He had no time to really think things through and could only accept whatever help that was being offered.

"I accept it. Just help me." Naruto said out loud in desperation, his words causing the ninja hidden in the ice mirrors to observe him curiously.

_Then call my name Uzumaki Naruto. __Summon me..._ The voice said as images of graying skies, rolling thunder and flashing lighting filled his mind. The raw power coursing through the skies, the power of storms. Somehow without being told in words, Naruto knew exactly what to say.

"Help me! _Qu__ezacotl! Elemental Guardian of Storms! Guardian of the Skies!_" Naruto cried out as a massive amount of blue green chakra expelled from his chakra points, wrapping around his body, creating a massive and powerful _chakra shroud _around his very self.

OoooO

_Unnamed bridge in Wave Country_

Haku never wanted to kill anyone. But Zabuza was everything to her and he had instructed her to take care of the two Genin of Team 7. So she had chosen the only way out, by sending the boy Sasuke into a near death like state with her senbons, hoping to discourage the blond haired boy from continuing his futile attacks.

She was therefore surprised when tendrils of sickly red chakra began wrapping around the boy, chakra which suddenly vanished as the boy began screaming in the air, as though he was talking to someone Haku could not see. What happened next, Haku did not have a word for. Powerful blue green chakra suddenly expelled from the boy, swirling around his body. Haku had an instinctual ability for chakra sensing and from the powerful blast of chakra, she smell the coming of a storm, she smell burnt air as lightning flickered through the skies, she smell an Ancient being, radiant with Power and encased with great Protection.

Hidden in her ice mirror, Haku looked on in trepidation as young Naruto's form began to transform, chakra swirling thickly around him, into the appearance of a large green bird like creature with arcs of lightning running through its skin. The eyeless head of the creature turned to face the real her within the ice mirrors, even as it hovered above the ground majestically.

_I am Quezacotl. Guardian Force of Storms and Skies. _A voice boomed powerfully within Haku's head, causing her to wince in pain. There was little doubt that the mental voice came from the creature that young Naruto had changed into. Flickers of doubt and fear was beginning to stir within her emotions, Haku was beginning to have a feeling that she had bitten more than she could chew.

_Child of Shiva. For your actions against my Summoner, you h__ave been judged. _The voice continued. Haku tensed, preparing to use her ice techniques to flee into other ice mirrors if need be... when _Giant Lightning Bolts_ exploded from the creature hovering in the air. The lightning bolts shattered all of her ice mirrors, powerful electricity coursed through her body as she was flung out of the ice mirror. Her body twitched and spasm uncontrollably as she flew through the air before hitting the ground beneath her hard.

Through leaden eyes, she saw the creature continue to unleash the mother of all lightning bolts into the fog surrounding it.

"Zabuza." Haku whispered through cracked and dried lips as she struggled to get up. "Zabuza... I am sorry..."

Darkness closed in around her vision as she fainted. She never saw the fog beginning to clear, or heard the shocked cries of Sakura and the bridge builder as they saw the majestic flying form of Quezacotl fade and transform back into one Uzumaki Naruto.

OoooO

_Unnamed bridge in Wave Country_

Kakashi was getting worried. Zabuza was good, too good. If this battle between him and the missing nin had taken place a few years ago, he would have won within minutes. But after the war, after the loss of the Fourth Hokage, and especially after Rin's death, his last connection to Konoha, he had let his battle skills fell to mediocrity. He had lived each day aimlessly, taking B ranked missions once in a while to cover his expanses. The Third Hokage had left him be for the past few years, perhaps understanding the grief Kakashi had suffered at the loss of his loved ones, until finally the old man had enough and had forced Kakashi to take up his first Genin team.

Kakashi knew it was the old man's way of trying to get Kakashi to feel connected with Konoha again, and so he had failed all the Genin teams he tested time and time again... until Team 7. Many of the council members had been delighted that Sharingan Kakashi was going to take in Uchiha Sasuke as his student. Surely with Sharingan Kakashi of a thousand techniques leading a team consisting of the last Uchiha, Team 7 would be destined for something great in the future! Even Kakashi had been taken in by all that hype, getting a morale boost from it until he had come up against Zabuza, in a C-rank mission gone wrong.

In the past, Kakashi would have little difficulty taking down an A-rank missing nin. Now however, he was barely matching up against the missing nin. The fog that Zabuza had called up hid the missing nin from sight, compounding Kakashi's difficulty in the fight. Kakashi took out a scroll and was about to summon his ninja dogs when a powerful chakra presence washed over the entire area. Kakashi was no chakra sensor, but with his elemental affinity, he was able to identify the nature of that enormous chakra source. Lightning, lightning that was wild and untamed, lightning that was now striking powerfully through the fog.

Several cries of pain sounded in the fog, followed by loud thuds of bodies. For a moment, Kakashi felt fear for his students. Was this some sort of forbidden technique Zabuza had up his sleeves? Then the fog had cleared. Kakashi's eyes had widened at the sight of an unconscious Zabuza lying on the ground a few feet in front of him. He had turned his head and gaped at the sight of a large green bird like creature in the distance, hovering in the air above an unconscious Sasuke. Kakashi was about to rush to Sasuke's aid when swirls of blue green chakra whirled around the flying creature as it faded and turned into... _Naruto_?

Kakashi stood stupefied, staring as Naruto's limp body dropped onto the ground beside Sasuke. The shrill cries of Sakura were what jolted him out of his shock as he rushed forward to check on his students.

OoooO

_Within a Mindscape_

He stood there, unseen by anyone, in what seemed like a classroom filled with students and a very stern looking woman. Images suddenly flashed on the screen before the woman as she turned to instruct her class.

"_Now everyone, this is History 101. The first thing anyone from Balamb Garden must know before they become a SeeD." _The woman said as images of strange creatures wielding powerful chakra techniques filled the screen. There was a demonic humanoid creature that could crush anything in a black ball of energy, there was a large whale like creature summing a giant wall of water. Many more other images of mysterious creatures flashed across the screen.

"_Today we're going to touch on the Guardian Forces, the Elementals that watches over the Balance of the world. There's the Brothers, dual Guardian Forces whose domain is over Earth. There's the Cerebus, the three headed Guardian Force who watches over the force of magic, there are many more others, but what you need to know about the Guardian Forces is that they exists in a different plane of existence. Their real bodies lie in the Elemental plane. They can only manifest part of themselves at places in our worlds with highly concentrated ethereal energies or survive in Elemental ores, whether naturally formed or artificially created. Throughout the centuries, human kind have mapped out areas with high concentrations of ethereal energies, Balamb Garden is in control of one such place, the summoning grounds for Ifrit, where most SeeDs from Balamb Garden take their rite of initiation by forging a pact with the Guardian Force of Fire."_

"_To forge a pact with an Elemental Force, you'll need a Junction system or a naturally formed Elemental ore implanted in your body. This allows a Guardian Force to store part of its essence within the Junction system or Elemental ore, allowing you to tap into magic, other special abilities, as well as summoning them."_

"_I'll need to add a note of caution about the summoning part however. Summoning Guardian Forces to aid you is very dangerous business, something a new summoner must never attempt without preparation. As I mentioned, Guardian/Elemental Forces exists on the Elemental planes. They can only manifest themselves in highly concentrated Ethereal Essences areas in the real world, as well as storing parts of their essence in the Junction systems of those they forge a pact with. When you summon a Guardian Force, you become a channel for great magic, and are allowing great shrouds of magic to form around your body, taking on the physical appearance of the Guardian Force. You will also relinquish control of your physical body to the Guardian Force, allowing their minds to take over. Through this new form, the Guardian Force will temporarily strike out at your enemies with their powers."_

"_Summoning however incurs a huge strain on the human body because your very body is surrounded by high concentration of Elemental magic, and is taken over by the alien minds of the Guardian Forces. A person with a weak will, would easily be crushed under the powerful minds of the Guardian Forces. The physical and mental strain on one's body during the summoning is immerse, forcing the summoning to end within seconds. There are even rumors that too much summoning of Guardian Forces will damage the human mind, causing memory loss, though that hearsay is still not scientifically proven. Whatever the case, just be careful..."_

The classroom dissolved in a swirl of lights. This time he was standing in a devastated landscape, watching from a high vantage as hundreds of people were crushed and consumed by an enormous creature with ten tails. Even so far away from the creature, he could feel the horrifying killing intent from the Ten-tailed beast.

Something flickered at the edge of his vision, and a green bird like creature came into being. He knew the creature's name instinctively, just as he knew that what he was seeing now was the creature's memories.

"Quezacotl." He said, nodding politely to the creature hovering beside him.

_Uzumaki Naruto. _The voice boomed in his head. _You must understand what I am showing you. You must understand the pact__ I have forged with you._

_Before you walk the Ten-tailed beast, formed from the destruction of the Elemental plane. He was the one that devastated the world, consuming Guardian Forces and humans alike._

Images flashed in front of Naruto as Quezacotl opened up his memories to the boy, his new summoner. Images of Quezacotl hiding and trapped in an Elemental ore for centuries before he was found. Knowledge of the Sage of the Six Path and the fate of the Ten-tailed beast which Quezacotl had discovered in this changed world. Memories of how he had at last found Naruto, the only one who could restore him to health. How he silently listened to Naruto and comforted him empathically over the years as the boy talked to the "pretty stone". How at last he had revealed himself on the bridge when Naruto was preparing for his last stand with Haku. How he had formed a pact with Naruto to fulfill his last request.

_To find his missing brothers and sisters. The rest of the Guardian Forces._

And by forging a pact with Quezacotl, Naruto had unknowingly agreed to that request. However, after seeing Quezacotl's memories of the creation of the Ten-tailed beast, of the suffering Quezacotl had gone through in the long centuries, Naruto was not averse to fulfilling Quezacotl's request. There was however another matter that was currently eating at Naruto.

"You could have helped sooner." Naruto accused, as he glared at Quezacotl. "Before Sasuke was injured."

_I could have, but I did not. _Quezacotl admitted, hovering gently in the air beside Naruto. _Becaus__e I could see that the child of Shiva had no intention of harming any of you._

"I still can't believe the masked nin is Haku though." Naruto said, a frown on his forehead as he looked at Quezacotl in doubt. "Or that she's a girl. The first and last time I saw her, she insisted she's a guy."

_You will see the truth once you wake up._ Quezacotl said as rejuvenating energies flooded Naruto. _You'll need to wake up anyway. Hatake Kakashi is going to kill Zabuza and Haku. Please, if you can, save the __Child of Shiva,__ I have use for her yet. She might be the only link for me to locate my sister, the Guardian Force of Ice._

"What do you mean Kakashi is going to kill them?" Naruto cried out in alarm as everything around him vanished into fog.

Somewhere on the bridge, Naruto's eyes snapped open.

OoooO

_Unnamed bridge in Wave Country_

The bodies of Gato and his brigands lay on the far end off the bridge, all of them dead. Kakashi had dealt with them just as the villagers from Wave village arrived to help, led by young Inari who had spurred them into action. Right now, the men of the village and even some of the women were finding joy tossing the dead bodies of the ones who had made their lives a living hell, into the deep waters of the river. Kakashi had turned away from the sight, understanding the villagers' need to vent their anger on their tormentors.

He had left Sasuke and Naruto in Sakura and Tsunami's care by the side of the bridge, with a sniveling Inari who was looking at the unconscious Naruto in tears. What had happened with Naruto was still a mystery eating away at him, but it was a mystery he could discover the answers to later. Right now however, he needed to deal with Zabuza and his masked ninja accomplice before they woke up. Drawing out a kunai, he walked to where he had left Zabuza and the masked ninja tied up. He lifted his hand and slashed down at Zabuza's open throat.

"NO!" The scream cried out, halting Kakashi's strike. Kakashi turned and saw that Naruto was awake. The boy ran and stumbled towards Kakashi's direction, crying out frantically. "No teacher! Don't do it!"

Everyone on the bridge had stopped what they were doing to look at what was going on. At the far corner of the bridge, Sakura's eyes were wide in shock as she tried to get up after Naruto who after his sudden awakening, had pushed her to the side. Naruto reached Kakashi's side, collapsing to the ground as his new found energies seemingly ran out.

"Please Kakashi, they can no longer fight. We can just let them go." Naruto pleaded as he kneeled on the ground gasping for breath.

Seeing the condition of his student, Kakashi instantly check Naruto's pulse on his waist. Naruto's rapid heartbeats told him all he needed to know. "Your body is stressed out, it needs rest. Running all the way here in your condition and straining it isn't helping." Kakashi admonished. "And I have questions for you regarding what had happened. But that can wait until we get back to Tazuna's house. In the meantime, Zabuza and his accomplice need to be dealt with. We can't leave a pair of powerful ninjas at our backs."

"Please Kakashi, there's got to be some other way. If not, at the very least spare Haku." Naruto cried out. "She didn't kill us when she had the chance to, and I have questions for her."

"Haku?" Kakashi looked at the masked ninja. "How do you know her?" Kakashi turned, seeing the mulish look on Naruto's face and realizing Naruto was not going to answer him. Rolling his eyes, he gave an exasperated sigh. He would interrogate the boy later. In the meantime, there was another way to deal with these two enemy ninjas, a more troublesome and time consuming way. But Zabuza and this Haku did not seem to be waking up soon, so he did have time on his hands. "Very well, I'll apply chakra restraining seals and strength sapping seals on the two of them. But I want answers Naruto, the very instant we have some place private to talk in."

"Okay Kakashi." Naruto said weakly. Now that Zabuza and Haku's deaths were avoided, Naruto flopped onto his back beside Kakashi, his eyes closed. Within moments, the blond haired boy was breathing the steady breaths of slumber.

Kakashi looked at his number one surprising student for a moment before shaking his head and took out his sealing kit. Picking up a brush and dipping it in chakra ink, he began crafting powerful seals on Zabuza that would prevent him from using chakra, as well as weaken his physical strength in the foreseeable future.

OoooO

_Town Square, Wave village_

The celebrations lasted the afternoon and were going strong even by nightfall. A group of villagers had went to ransack Gato's mansion and had discovered that other than a handful of guards who were easily disposed of, the rest of the mercenaries had followed Gato to the bridge where Kakashi had already killed them off. The food, the riches in the mansion was shared among the villages, and even now groups of villagers were ferrying food and money back into Wave village's storage houses which had been empty for years. One would have expected a few villagers to run off with whatever riches they could get their hands on. But years of suffering had united them and Inari's rousing speech to get them to defend their village for the first time in years, had spurred them into actions. Gato's wealth, Gato's food and treasures, belonged to no single person but to all in village. The village that had suffered under Gato's tyranny.

Tazuna, his whole family and Team 7 were treated like heroes. When Sasuke had woken shortly before they left the bridge, the villagers had pulled him and Sakura to the village square where a celebration had begun to take place. Kakashi had taken over the old village prison, tossing Zabuza and Haku behind bars, where they were constantly watched by a group of angry and armed villagers. Kakashi had then taken over the old Magistrate building which had lain empty for years. A group of villagers had tidied up the place, making it the current residence for Team 7. Kakashi had avoided the celebrations, pleading a need to rest and watch over Naruto. Tsunami and Inari had also avoided the celebrations, tending to the still unconscious Naruto, leaving Tazuna to make sure the villagers do not go overboard in their new found freedom.

Tazuna and a few others had pulled up a table in the village square where they were planning Wave village's future and what to do with the wealth and resources they had raided from Gato's mansion. Off to the side, Sasuke was scowling as he watched the villagers feasting and dancing.

"Tell me again, what happened during the fight." Sasuke said coldly for the eighth time, with a nervous Sakura seated beside him.

"Sasuke, we should get something to eat." Sakura tried to distract him, but wilted under the glare he gave her. Despondently, she began to narrate what she had seen in the fight on the bridge again. "Well I could only hear fighting at first... The fog hid everything. Then there was this... powerful presence. Giant bolts of lightning pierced through the fog, people were crying in pain, I heard bodies hitting the ground. Then the fog cleared. The masked ninja and Zabuza were lying unmoving on the ground and there was this large green bird like creature with no eyes, flying over your body... After that, the bird creature just changed into Naruto who dropped to the ground beside you." Sakura said, disbelief still heavy in her voice even after all the times Sasuke asked her to repeat what she had seen.

"And then?" Sasuke pressed on.

"Gato came with his mercenaries. Kakashi managed to kill all off them, he was saying he was still close to full strength, since he hadn't use any powerful techniques against Zabuza yet. Then Naruto woke up when Kakashi was going to kill Zabuza and the masked ninja and stopped him from doing that. Naruto fainted again while Kakashi apply seals on Zabuza and the masked ninja." Sakura said, biting her lips as she saw the dark look in Sasuke's eyes. "Shortly after that, you woke up."

"I woke up. After Naruto had somehow transformed into a powerful creature that managed to disable Zabuza and the masked ninja. I woke up after everything is over." Sasuke growled, his teeth gritted in anger as he got up from his seat. With a leap, he jumped onto the nearest rooftop. "I need to get stronger. I need to get stronger."

Sakura watched in shock as Sasuke ran off without a backward glance. For a moment, Sakura thought about going after Sasuke. But she was so weary after all that had happened, especially after the way Sasuke had interrogated her about the battle for the past few hours. And she seriously doubted she could keep up with Sasuke the way he was right now. Getting up, she walked to a table laden with food. Hopefully Sasuke would not get into too much trouble. But right now, she was too drained of energy to care about her emotional prince who did not even return her affections.

OoooO

_Within a Mindscape_

The three SeeDs faced off against a group of monsters. The girl waved her hands, tapping into the power of the Guardian Forces residing in her Junction system, five magical spells of Aero was pulled from the monsters, to be stored in her body. _Aero, __a magical spell that allows one to unleash blast of powerful wind. _The knowledge of what the spell did appear within her mind, through her link with the Guardian Forces.

At the side of the battlefield, Naruto stood, watching with Quezacotl hovering at his side. _All Guardian Forces grant their Summoners the power to pull magic from magical creatures and store those spells within their bodies. Before the cataclysm, men do not possess magic, unlike you ninjas who are able to manipulate magic/chakra nowadays. _Quezacotl was saying even as he gave Naruto a deeper glimpse into the mind of the girl, who was one of his ex-summoner.

The girl arranged the new stock of magical spells in her body. Through her pact with Quezacotl she was able to store those magical spells of Aero in parts of her body that allows her to regenerate much faster. The Aero spells in those parts of her body allowed a magical regeneration boost which would be helpful to her in this coming battle.

_Depending on how favored the Summoners we forged a__ pact with are, we'll grant them other special abilities or skills such as the ability to store magical skills into parts of the body that allows boost in strength, speed, even luck. Humans after all have an innate ability to affect reality with their beli__ef. Guardian Forces knew which parts of a human body to empower so that one could manipulate the very fabrics of reality so things happen in their favor. _Quezacotl continued, with Naruto an attentive student. _For you Naruto, I would not hide any skills fro__m you. I will instead empower you with all the skills and abilities I possessed in the past and now, so that you can aid me in my quest to find the fates of my lost siblings._

"Thank you Quezacotl. But what skills or abilities will you pass me?" Naruto asked, awed as he watched the magical battle happening in front of him.

_They will be quite a lot. _Quezacotl said with a mental chuckle._ In the past, Guardian Forces limit the powers they grant to their Summoners for fear they will misuse them. But the world is__ different now, and for you to aid me in my quest, you will need access to all the powers and abilities I can grant you. So as to not overwhelm you, I will open the skills and abilities of most use to you first. I will guide you in how to use them before I__ open up other skills and abilities._

"I am taking your word for it then. All those years staying within in my body siphoning Ethereal energies, I am consider your help as paying rent for it." Naruto said in a good natured tone of voice.

_Very well._ Quezacotl said in a humoring voice. _I shall open four abilities to you first. First is the ability to Draw the "magic" out of others. I will also give you the passive ability to boost your magic/chakra abilities by over 120%. It will mean that your control over yo__ur chakra as well as power of your chakra techniques will increase greatly while my essence resides within you. I will also give you the "Card" ability, which allows you to turn weaken enemies into magic/chakra cards. As well as the "Card Modify" ability w__hich will change those magical cards into special items._

"Changing enemies to cards and changing cards to items?" Naruto asked, confusion already clear on his face.

_I will explain in time. This is something that you need to experience for yourself to under__stand._ Quezacotl said kindly. _It's time to wake up young summoner. Hatake Kakashi is getting quite worried._

Naruto nodded as he opened his eyes.

OoooO

_Magistrate Building, Wave village_

Naruto had been unconscious for eight days. During which Sasuke had gone into a training frenzy until Kakashi had put a stop to it. Then he had to deal with an awake Zabuza who tried every attempt to escape. There was also an incident when a few of the village men had attempted to teach Haku some "humility". That had ended quite abruptly when the women of the village had gotten wind of it. Haku had been bundled out of the prison and taken to the magistrate office where Sakura and Sasuke would take turns watching over her. As for the men involved, after what the village women had done to them, they would not be looking at any women with ill intentions for days to come.

Haku had been surprisingly sweet and docile for an accomplice of Zabuza, Demon of the Mist. It took some coaxing from Sakura before Kakashi got the real story of why Haku was working for Zabuza. Apparently Zabuza had taken Haku in after she had escaped from being killed by her father. The same father who had killed Haku's mother because he discovered that the two of them possessed bloodlines.

The land of Mist was not a land that took kindly to bloodline wielders after the bloodline wars, Haku only escaped with her life when she accidentally used her Ice Release bloodline to kill her own father. Broken and alone, when Zabuza had shown her kindness and taken her in, Haku had sworn her loyalty to him. Yet even the harsh life with Zabuza could not destroy her kind nature, which was the reason why she had not killed Sasuke or Naruto during the battle at the bridge.

Zabuza on the other hand was not as emotionless to his relationship with Haku as Kakashi had first thought. When Haku had disappeared for days after the village men had taken her away to teach her "humility", he had fallen into a deep rage that only abate when Kakashi had brought Haku to the prison unharmed. Now knowing Zabuza's weakness, Kakashi had strike a deal with Zabuza, for him to be on his best behavior if Kakashi promised no harm would befall upon Haku.

Kakashi however was uncertain of what to do with Zabuza yet. Taking him back to Konoha would ensure his death. None of the hidden villages take kindly to missing ninjas, but letting such a dangerous ninja lose was like letting lose a wild tiger that might come back to haunt him. At times, he wondered at the wisdom of listening to Naruto. Naruto was still too soft and inexperienced in the ninja world, though how he had transformed into that strange bird like creature which had taken out Zabuza and Haku was one big unknown.

When Haku had offered to tend to Naruto, Kakashi had conceded. None in Team 7 were trained healers, Haku however was well versed in herbs. Under Kakashi's watchful eye, Haku had attempted to feed and care for Naruto. Haku had heard from Sakura that the only reason she and Zabuza were alive was because of Naruto, as such, she had viewed herself as indebted to the blond haired boy. It was a debt she tried to repay by tending to Naruto's needs while he was unconscious. So far she had been true to her words, but Kakashi remained worried over Naruto's condition. Naruto had seemed physically fine, yet he remained unconscious long enough that the bridge Tazuna was building was nearly completed. Even chakra exhaustion would not have lasted for so long.

Kakashi was planning to send a ninja dog back to Konoha for help when Sakura and Haku's startled cries brought him to Naruto's room where the boy was just waking up.

Gulping down a glass of water which Haku handed him, Naruto turned to Kakashi and whined. "I am hungry. Can I have some food?"

OoooO

_Magistrate Building, Wave village_

"So you're trying to tell me that you forged a pact with an ancient elemental being, who is older than the Nine-tailed fox, who is older even than the legendary Ten-tailed beast, and who have been living in your body for more than a year?" Kakashi asked with an incredulous tone of voice as Naruto told Kakashi what had happened that day on the bridge, in between bites of food. When Kakashi had insisted on getting an explanation from Naruto about what happened on the bridge, Naruto had requested for some privacy as he could not explain about the Guardian Forces without touching on the Nine-tailed beast sealed within him. That was the reason why Sakura, an unwilling Sasuke and Haku had been sent out of the house while the two of them talked.

"It's true." Naruto said with his mouth full. Quezacotl had seen no reason why the origins of the Guardian Forces should be kept secret. The only thing the Elemental being had cautioned Naruto not to tell Kakashi was the location of his Elemental ore. "I can give you proof if you want."

"I think we'll skip that idea." Kakashi said hastily as he thought of how long Naruto had laid unconscious after transforming into a powerful flying creature. "I don't want you lying on your back for the next few days because you did another of those strange transformations."

"It's a summoning Kakashi." Naruto said indignantly. "I was just lending my physical body to Quezacotl because he could not manifest in the physical plane unless in special circumstances. The summoning basically involves Quezacotl creating a chakra shroud around my body and taking over my mind for a brief period of time."

"And if that is true, that just makes it worse." Kakashi said in a fierce voice. "Relinquishing control of your body to some other entity? Especially your body with the Nine-tailed fox contained within you? Naruto, promise me you'll not do it again until we can get some specialist ninja back at Konoha to check into this."

"I've been telling you Kakashi, Quezacotl and his siblings are the enemies of the Tailed beasts. Quezacotl is a Guardian Force, they watch over the balance of the world." Naruto said before his forehead crinkled in confusion. "Or they used to. Now Quezacotl isn't even sure if the rest of his siblings are alive, even if Haku is really the descendant of Shiva, the Ice Elemental."

"Let's say I believe you Naruto. That you really forged a pact with an elemental being that suddenly appeared to your rescue. You will need to take its words with a grain of salt. You can't believe everything it said." Kakashi cautioned as he looked at Naruto seriously. "The stories it told you might not be totally true. We'll need the researchers back at Konoha to look into this just to make sure there are no adverse consequences of forging a pact with the creature."

_Your teacher Kakashi__ is wise to show caution to the unknown._ Quezacotl said approvingly, breaking through Naruto's irritation. _I am unable to communicate mind to mind with him. I am unable to show him my memories. Do not begrudge him of fear regarding the unknown._

"Well I can also show you the rest of the skills and abilities Quezacotl gave me, to prove he exists." Naruto said as he reached out with the new ability Quezacotl had granted him. The ability to Draw magic spells out of a magic source or magical creature. Kakashi being able to use chakra, fill the criteria of a magical creature. Reaching out with his new senses, he touched the chakra core of Kakashi. The chakra core glinted with five different colors. Naruto halted at the sight.

_What you are seeing now is the chakra __core of Hatake Kakashi, separated into spells that are his true core. The colors show that Hatake Kakashi possessed five different types of magical spells. Once you've drawn them, you'll know what they are. _Quezacotl advised.

Naruto hesitated, and then reached out with his new senses and touched one of the colors as he _Pulled_.

Kakashi blinked, glaring at Naruto. "What did you do Naruto? My chakra just spiked up!"

Naruto however was lost in the sudden information that assaulted him. _6 Mimic magic has been __drawn. __Mimic, a magical spell that allows one to instantly copy any magical technique of a target._

_There's another thing you should know Naruto._ Quezacotl cautioned, breaking through his thoughts. _Every time__ you pull magic spells from a creature, you're act__ually strengthening the magical aspect of the creature through which the spell was drawn. That's the reason why in the past, humans draw spells from monsters and kill them immediately afterwards, to prevent them from becoming stronger. There have been case__s where too much drawing of magic from a monster caused the monster to become empowered and too powerful to be stopped by ordinary humans._

_And you're telling me that only now? And I can't kill Kakashi! He's not a monster!_ Naruto growled back in his mental voice even as he felt the six spells settling into his body. He turned his attention back to Kakashi who was now glaring fiercely at him.

"Naruto." Kakashi gritted out. "What did you just do?"

"I told you about the Draw magic ability I got from Quezacotl didn't I?" Naruto said as he put down the bread in his hand, looking at Kakashi. "Well I have just drawn six Mimic spells from you. Apparently the more I draw on the magic, or in this case, the chakra of someone, the more powerful the person will get in that aspect of magic I am drawing in. Magic is actually chakra. Which means since the Mimic spell is a magic that allows anyone to copy a magical technique of a target, I most probably drawn that magic out of you because of your Sharingan."

"Really?" Kakashi said as his eyes narrowed. "You'll have to prove that wouldn't you Naruto? Copy this!" Kakashi's hands flicked into a fast series of handseals as the tea from the teapot rose into a small water dragon, or tea dragon in this case.

Naruto reached into his reserves of magic spells and cast one out. A strange chakra empowered him, blazing in his eyes. As he looked at the water dragon, he suddenly _knew_ the handseals for it and how to execute it. His hands flicked into handseals for the tea dragon, moving as though he had practiced for years. The execution of his chakra was precise and a second tea dragon swirled out of the tea pot, struggling with the tea dragon Kakashi had called out.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, seemingly impressed. "That's enough." Kakashi said as he released the tea dragon, causing the tea to swirl back into the tea pot, watching as Naruto did the same. "That's enough proof for me. You couldn't have known the technique for the Water Dragon, and the only way you can execute it perfectly on first attempt is if you have a Sharingan of your own. Since you didn't, it is proof enough of this so call magic of yours."

"Great, and I just wasted a perfectly good magic spell just to prove to you." Naruto grumbled before brightening up. "Though I did get a cool technique in exchange."

"If what you said is true, about the Guardian Forces, the Tailed-beasts, and the new powers and abilities you now have through the pact..." Kakashi looked troubled as his words trailed off. "I can very well imagine the trouble that will come if this news, even the news of your new abilities is leaked out to other hidden villages. Power is the coin of currency in hidden villages. Your new abilities, strange and powerful as they are, will be a threat. The other hidden villages will seek to make those powers theirs and failing that, ensure Konoha does not have access to this power, even if they have to destroy it. Naruto, you have to understand that your new gifts are a double edged sword. You must not reveal any of this to anyone else until we can talk to the Hokage."

"All right." Naruto said with a nod. He might be young and brash, but he was not stupid. Even though he might crave attention and approval, years of living alone, sometimes surviving in the streets had taught him one valuable lesson. Never draw too much attention to yourself, especially negative types of attention. Curious, Naruto reached out with his new senses again, touching one of the magic he had yet to draw from Kakashi. He _Pulled_. Kakashi jerked back with shock.

"Naruto! What did you just do!" Kakashi barked out.

"8 White Chakra Blade spells." Naruto breathed, his eyes wide as information about the new spell trickled into his mind. Reaching out, he cast out one of the spell. A long white chakra blade formed in his hand, cleaving apart the table in front of him, causing Kakashi and Naruto to jump away from each other instantly. Naruto was looking at his hands in horror, while Kakashi was staring at the white chakra blade in Naruto's grasp, his face graying in shock.

After a few stunned seconds, the white chakra blade in Naruto hand flickered out, disappearing into thin air. Kakashi blinked his eyes, as he snapped out of his shock. He turned to look at Naruto who was still staring at the destroyed table.

"I didn't mean to do that, honestly!" Naruto was saying when Kakashi cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"Right now I am more interested in the _how_ of you drawing these magic/chakra spells from other people. Do different people have different spells? And how do you determine what spell to pull from someone?" Kakashi said in a stern voice.

_The core of every magical creature is different. The core shows the true self of the creature, and this core may change and alter with the different experiences and emotions the crea__ture goes through in life._ Quezacotl said within Naruto's head. _Tell your teacher this. The spells you are able to pull from him are but the true reflection of himself at this current time of his life. It may all change in the future. And shall you continu__e pulling more spells from him, he will become more and more powerful in the magical aspects that you are pulling from._

"Naruto I am waiting." Kakashi said glaring down at Naruto. It was the first time Naruto had seen Kakashi frustrated and he was a bit quailed by the older man.

"Well Quezacotl said that..." Naruto began as he repeated Quezacotl's words. It was going to be one of those long days.

OoooO

_Magistrate Building, Wave village_

First Naruto had woken up, and then Kakashi had sent him out with Sakura and Haku to walk the village while he talked to Naruto, treating Sasuke like some glorified babysitter. Well Sasuke was having none of that. The question of how Naruto had defeated Zabuza and Haku had been eating away at him for the past few days, and so he had slipped away from Sakura and Haku with some lame excuse he doubt the two girls believed. Sure, he was supposed to watch over Haku, but the girl already had chakra restraining and strength sapping seals on her. Add in the fact that they were walking on a busy crowded village street, Sakura and the rest of the villagers could probably make sure she did not escape.

And so Sasuke had backtracked to the Magistrate building where Team 7 currently made their residence. Creeping to the side of the wall where Naruto's room was at, he carefully pried open a bit of the windows so that he could hear the conversations within.

Tales of Guardian Forces, Elemental beasts, and Naruto was actually the demon container of the Nine-tailed fox! It all explained a lot, about the animosity the villagers at Konoha had always seemed to have against Naruto. It also explained how Naruto had gained his incredible powers. Kakashi must have been locked in similar feelings of shock and disbelief because the white haired ninja did not seem to realize Sasuke was outside a window listening in.

Then Naruto had shown off his Mimic spell and White Chakra Blade spell, both of which Naruto had somehow _drawn_ from Kakashi. Sasuke had gaped at such a raw display of power. He, Uchiha Sasuke, must have this power! This power that Naruto now have must be _his_ if he was to ever have his revenge on his murdering brother! And then Naruto had begun explaining how he drew magic from others. How that the more spells he draw from others, the more powerful the person became in that magical aspect Naruto was drawing from. It was in fact a two way symbiotic relationship.

Perhaps it was the soft gasp from Sasuke's lips, perhaps Kakashi had finally detected Sasuke's presence by the windows. Whatever the case, the windows were suddenly thrown open and Sasuke stared dumbstruck into Kakashi's angry face.

"How much did you overheard?' Kakashi said with a grim voice as he glared at Sasuke. The look on Sasuke's face must have said it all because Kakashi gave an angry growl as he pointed a finger at Sasuke. "This is an order from me as leader of Team 7. You are not to breathe a word of what you've heard in this room to anyone do you understand?"

Sasuke could only nod dumbly, barely preventing his knees from trembling at the killing intent coming from Kakashi.

"I am disappointed in you Sasuke. You've left Sakura to watch over Haku alone didn't you?" Kakashi said, his lips twisting grimly at Sasuke's nod. "If Haku tried anything, if Sakura is hurt, I will make sure you answer for it. Get in the room NOW Sasuke. Naruto make sure Sasuke does not do anything stupid, we'll continue our conversations later."

Kakashi waited until Sasuke scrambled into the room through the window before he leapt out, quickly crossing the rooftops in search of Sakura and Haku. An uncomfortable silence descended in the room as the two boys watched Kakashi disappeared off into the distance. Then Sasuke turned to face Naruto, a resolute look on his face.

"Tell me how I can get the same powers as you Naruto. Tell me how I can forge a pact with this Quezacotl." Sasuke said, his eyes staring intensely at Naruto.

"It's impossible unless you can find an Elemental ore or Junction system to implant into your body. I am special because..." Naruto stumbled over his words as he realized what he was about to say.

"I already know you're the container for the Nine-tailed fox, and I don't care about that! Just tell me how I can get an Elemental ore or a Junction system." Sasuke said in exasperation, he was not going to let anything stand in his way of getting more power for his vengeance.

"Well Elemental ores are what is known as chakra gems in the Elemental countries, they are horribly expensive though, since they are very hard to find." Naruto explained with a frown as if he was listening to a voice in his head. After the explanation Naruto had told Kakashi, Sasuke was inclined to believe there _is_ a voice in the idiot's head. "As for Junction systems, the Elemental countries do not have the technologies to build artificial Elemental ore. Crafting Junction systems from scratch might take weeks, months or even years, depending on whether we can find the needed resources."

"Chakra gems! I know chakra gems." Sasuke said in a voice of excitement. "Several of the heirlooms in the Uchiha compound have chakra gems embedded in them. So if I implant one of the gems in my body, I can form a pact with Quezacotl?"

"Well I guess." Naruto said a bit unwillingly, seemingly a little put off at thoughts of sharing his own unique summon with his rival. "Quezacotl said he'll agree to the pact if a chakra gem is implanted in your body, as repayment for saving me from Haku's attack back on the bridge. However he will not grant you all of his abilities and powers, you will only be given the basics of powers and abilities. More will be granted to you as the bond between you two builds and he trusts in you more. He say from his observations right now, you have serious erm psy... chopathic issues, whatever that means. He just isn't comfortable with giving you more powers until you prove that you will not abuse them."

"I will just have to prove myself to him them." Sasuke said in a fiercely serious voice, gripping Naruto's hands tight as he stared into Naruto's startled eyes. "Thank you Quezacotl for granting me this pact. You will not regret it. I'll be the most powerful summoner you ever have!"

Quezacotl must have said something to Naruto because the blond haired boy tilted his head to the side before looking at Sasuke with a frown. But whatever Quezacotl had said, Naruto did not share it with Sasuke. Sasuke held Naruto's stare for a few uncomfortable seconds before the blond boy simply shook his head and walk away.

"Come on Sasuke, help me clear out this mess." Naruto said as he began cleaning the spilled food on the floor, causalities of the accident when he had cut his table in half with a White Chakra Blade spell. "Kakashi might be in a better mood if he didn't have to deal with a dirty room when he gets back."

OoooO

_Magistrate Building, Wave village_

Haku did entertain thoughts of escaping the village and rescuing Zabuza from the village's prison once Uchiha Sasuke had left. Of Team 7, only Haruno Sakura was the least threat. She could possibly disable the girl with just her taijutsu, even without access to her chakra and her weakened strength. But through the days she had spent with the girl, she had built up a cordial relationship with Sakura that was less jailer and more as a friend. Sakura had been delighted to find a female ninja close to her age, who had no choice but to listen to the pink haired girl talk as Sakura watched over Haku during her time at the Magistrate building.

At first Haku had found the girl's conversations pointless, Sakura treated being a ninja like a game. Instead all of her attention was focused on gaining the interest of one Uchiha Sasuke, the fantasy prince of the pink-haired girl. But there had been hidden depths to the air headed girl, somehow, through clever maneuvering of conversations, Sakura had gotten Haku to pour her heart out to someone other than Zabuza. It had been so long since Haku had a female friend, years in fact, that Sakura's simple friendship had caused Haku to acknowledge the girl as another one of her precious person. And she would never hurt any of her precious people.

And so Haku had roamed the streets of Wave village with Sakura beside her. The villagers had been courteous to the two girls. Team 7, inclusive of Sakura, were heroes to everyone in Wave village. Haku was treated politely because for the past few days, other than tending to Naruto, she had brewed herbal remedies for several other sick villagers, as well as guiding the village's women in collecting the best herbs to make the most potent herbal extracts. Haku had been accepted by the women of Wave village and to the rest of the village, that was that.

They had only explored half the village before Kakashi had appeared next to them in a swirl of leaves. The white haired man looked highly irritated and frustrated as he took the two girls back to the Magistrate building. Once there, Haku had been greeted by a delighted Naruto who had scolded her for letting him think she was a girl. The powerful blond haired boy seemed to have forgotten that only a little more than a week ago, he and Haku had been locked in serious battle, one that could have cost either of their lives. Naruto had simply prated on, making small talk as he tried to get to know "the girl he had met in the flower fields" better.

Kakashi meanwhile, after leaving instructions for Team 7 to watch over Haku, left to settle some business. He was still not back even after dark, and so Sakura had bind Haku apologetically as Team 7 turn in for the night, with one of them taking a rotational watch every few hours.

Haku woke up next morning on the couch, stiff from the rope bindings on her hands and legs. She had known something was going on when Kakashi had untied her, called Team 7 together, just as Tazuna, the bridge builder, walked in with several armed men who herded an untied Zabuza in front of them. Haku's eyes had lit up at the sight of her most precious person, the one who had taken her in when no one else had wanted her. The one who had taken care of her, as well as treated her with kindness in his rough seemingly uncaring way.

"Team 7 will be returning to Konoha this very morning." Kakashi had announced to the shock of his team, though Tazuna and his men did not seem surprise by the announcement. "There's the matter of what to do with Zabuza and Haku however. Taking them back to Konoha would be an instant death sentence for them, and after all the trouble Naruto and I have taken to spare their lives, it would be a waste if Konoha was to kill them just like that."

Zabuza growled angrily, his untied hands already moving when one of the villagers with a pike shoved it in front of his face.

"I've talked to Tazuna and we've decided what to do with you two." Kakashi said, nodding to Tazuna.

Tazuna turned to look at Haku and then Zabuza, his next words however stunned Haku into silence. "Wave village would like to hire the two of you to protect our village."

"What?" Zabuza said in disbelief as he stared at the old bridge builder whom he had tried to kill previously.

"We've taken the entirety of Gato's wealth. It does not take much to deduct that some unscrupulous partners of Gato might come to Wave village to take back these wealth by whatever force necessary. After the oppression Wave village had suffered under Gato's hands, none of us wants to be without protections again." Tazuna said resolutely as he stared at Zabuza who had begun laughing. "We are willing to pay highly for your protection Zabuza."

"And what makes you think I wouldn't just take that wealth from you." Zabuza sneered at Tazuna.

Tazuna however was unfazed by Zabuza's actions and words. "Because those wealth are now separated into various secret accounts tied to Wave village. Certain parties need to be present or agree, in order to draw upon the funds. One of the parties is Hatake Kakashi, who is now a trustee of the village. Should anything happen to the rest of the Wave village council, authority to dispense the funds will fall upon Hatake Kakashi. We trust him to look upon the interest of Wave village."

"He is a Konoha nin, his only interest is to Konoha." Zabuza said incredulously as he stared at Tazuna.

"And yet he and his Team offered to save Wave village, even when we only paid for a C-rank mission." Tazuna said in a voice of steel. "We trust Kakashi, Zabuza. Wave village is willing to pay for the services of you and Haku for 150,000 ryo per month. More if we come under attack. I am also willing to forgive you of your past actions in trying to kill me. Will you agree to these terms Zabuza?"

There was a long moment of silence before Zabuza gave a shrug of his broad shoulders. "I'll take it. It's better than dying in Konoha. I expect this agreement is only between those in this room?"

"Correct, we can't very well announce to the world Wave village has hired a missing nin as its protector. To the public, you will have escaped with Haku once Team 7 left. You will be paid on a monthly basis by the village council, and accommodations have already been prepared for you. There's an old woodcutter's cabin in the forest. We've repaired and furnished it so that you can move in anytime." Tazuna stepped forward, passing Zabuza a thick envelope. "We are also returning what should belong to you."

"What..." Zabuza trailed off as he opened the envelope and saw the wad of cash within.

"I believe that was the amount Gato promised for killing me and Team 7." Tazuna said as he turned to Haku who was staring open mouth at the scene before her. "Both of you might have failed in your mission for Gato, but Wave village will honor that debt. That money rightfully belongs to the both of you anyway."

Zabuza's mouth twisted as he stuffed the envelope of money into his pockets. The look he gave Tazuna this time round was however respectful. "I may be a missing nin, but I also have my own honor. For as long as I accept payment from Wave village, Wave village will stay under my protection. And that is my promise to you."

"Good, then I'll hold you to it." Kakashi said as he walked up to Haku, pressing a finger on the chakra restraining and strength sapping seals on her body which began to fade and disappear. Within moments, she could feel her chakra and strength returning again. Kakashi left to stand by Zabuza's side, doing the same to him. Zabuza stretched his arm a few times, as if loosening stiff muscles. "Team 7 will be leaving for Konoha now. Zabuza, you and Haku will be taken back to your cells. Break out in the dark of the night. You should be able to figure out the rest on your own."

Zabuza gave a curt nod to Kakashi before turning away. In the meantime, Sakura had engulfed Haku in a hug, while Naruto promised to come back and see her again. Sasuke simply stood a distance away, glaring at the girl who had turned him into a pin cushion.

"Alright time to go." Tazuna said as the armed men rounded up Zabuza and Haku and began binding them. "We're going to put up a show when we march you all back to prison, so act the part. Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura, words cannot express the gratitude Wave village has for the four of you. The villagers will be there at the bridge to say our goodbyes to you when you leave. I have also given Kakashi some gifts that Wave village wishes to pass to each of you. I understand Kakashi will give them to you upon reaching Konoha. I wish you all the best and to come back and visit us again one day."

"We will old man." Naruto said giving Tazuna a smile.

"Yes, we'll definitely come back one day." Sakura said as Tazuna and his men began marching Haku and Zabuza out of the Magistrate building.

Haku turned to give Team 7 once last wave before she walked out.

OoooO

_Forest near the Land of Waves_

Team 7 was moving at top speed over the tops of trees after they had said their goodbyes to the villagers, crossing the almost completed bridge back into mainland. They had to water walk for a short distance towards the mainland, after which they had to skim over the trees. Kakashi was hoping to make good on their timing, attempting to reach Konoha within three days. He was pushing Team 7 hard, and it was not too much of a guess for Naruto to realize that reason was probably him, or to be more correct, Quezacotl who resides in Naruto's body.

At the current moment, Naruto was bringing up the group's rear as he conversed with the Elemental Force within him. _So you've found Shiva's location?_ Naruto asked mentally. Quezacotl had been quiet the whole of last evening when he had done a powerful magical analysis of Haku while Naruto was engaging the girl in small talk. The pure chaos that was this morning meant that Naruto did not have time to inquire after Quezacotl until now.

_In a way. _Quezacotl's voice said in Naruto's mind. _I was able to at last locate and tap into the metaphysical connection which binds Haku to Shiva due to their shared bloodlines. I was able to determine that my sister is indeed alive, though her essence seemed weak and that she was in some kind of slumber__. My magic has already picked up that connection, so I will be able to guide you to Shiva's location once you're able to leave the village to help me search for her._

_That's good._ Naruto said in agreement. _I'll see if I can convince Kakashi to let me have a__ few days off from the village once we get back to Konoha. I have been meaning to ask. This magical analysis thing you did to Haku, can it be used to find out what magic spells I can pull from a person?_

_It can be used that way. _Quezacotl admitted. _However __the casting of such a magical scan takes time. Usually it will be faster to simply draw the magic from a person, so that I can "sample" it and pass you the information of what the magic spell does._

_Well Kakashi gave me strict instructions before we left, n__ot to draw out any magic from anyone else for the time being._ Naruto said thinking back on Kakashi's firm briefing outside the Magistrate building before they had set off. _I didn't tell him I've already drawn spells from Sasuke and Sakura while he was away__ the previous night._ Naruto revealed. Sakura had been his unknowing target of spell drawing. It had been an eye opener when he had drawn out two powerful spells from Sakura. One was a spell named "Physical manifestation of alternate self" which could somehow summon the darker part of oneself, the last was a "Quake" spell which could cause a localize earthquake.

Sasuke on the other hand was a willing participant of Naruto's magic drawing experiment. Naruto had drawn out "Mimic" spells from the boy, "Blaze" spells which could summon blaze of fire, and "Lightning" spells which could cast lightning on a target. What had Naruto curious however were the spells Naruto had yet to draw from Kakashi. _So Quezacotl, do you think you can find out what other spells I can __draw from Kakashi?_

_That can be done._ Quezacotl said with a mental nod. _Give me a few minutes._

In the mental silence that followed, Naruto observed his surroundings as he tagged after his Team, speeding across the treetops. They had just passed a familiar road where the group had first encountered Zabuza when Quezacotl spoke up. _Magical analysis is completed. Hatake Kakashi currently possesses five different magical __aspects__. The "Mimic" spell, and "White Chakra Blade" spell can be drawn from him. The other th__ree are the "Lightning orb" spell, which creates a powerful orb of lightning in one's hands, "Dragon flames" spell, which creates fire hot enough to melt metal, and the "Tidal wave" spell which creates a powerful wall of water._

_That is __so cool!_ Naruto said in excitement, a grin splitting his face. _I can't wait to draw those spells from Kakashi. Now I just have to find a way to get Kakashi to agree to it._

As Team 7 speeds through the treetops. Naruto was plotting on drawing more powerful spells with his new found abilities.


End file.
